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Nearly three million troops from the colonies of the British Empire served during the First World War. This film made by Pathé Freres,
released in 1917 but filmed over the period 1915 to 1917, shows how broadly
based the Allied forces were. We see Canadians at Salisbury Plains, Indians at
Marseilles, and Australians and New Zealanders in Egypt.

Usually films of soldiers during the war are formal affairs.
While the film starts off this way, with the usual scenes of training, marching
and inspections, it also shows troops of all the different nationalities in a
more informal mood, playing up to the camera-- including performing a Highland
jig! It also shows a rare glimpse of ANZAC forces at camp relaxing in Egypt,
with the spectacular backdrop of the Pyramids behind them.

Belgian Flag Days, along with French Flag Days, Violet Day and Wattle Day, occurred across Australia during
World War One. They were organised to raise funds,
engage communities and encourage new recruits, as well as to honour and pay respect to the
wounded, the fallen and their families. This film shows a Belgian Flag Day held at the former mining
town of Burra, South Australia, on 10 May 1915.

When We March Through Berlin Town is a jaunty tune clearly aimed to lift the spirits the troops and encourage men to enlist. The soldier at the centre of the song says farewell to his sweetheart, Jeannie, because the King of England is needing ‘laddies big and broad’. He assures Jeannie that he will wear her sprig of heather in his old Scotch cap when they defeat the Germans and occupy Berlin. The tone of the song is one of supreme optimism.

The song ‘Lologo tau kautau Niue ne oatu he Felakutau Fakamua he Lalolagi’ was sung by the men from the Pacific
island of Niue who volunteered to join New Zealand’s Māori Contingent in 1916. They
served in France alongside Maori troops in the newly formed Pioneer Battalion,
and suffered greatly from conditions colder than they had ever imagined.

On 31 May 1916, Lieutenant Alexander Boyle from South Canterbury was in charge of a gun turret and two
12-inch guns on the HMS New Zealand during
the Battle of Jutland, the greatest naval clash of the First World War. In this
excerpt from a 1959 radio talk, he recalls seeing the British battlecruisers Indefatigable and Queen Mary destroyed with a large loss of life. Lt. Boyle also
remembers his crew’s faith in a Māori mat [piupiu] and tiki
given to their captain when HMS New
Zealand visited New Zealand just before the war.

This commercial sound recording includes what might be the first recorded version of 'Advance
Australia Fair', the
song that became Australia's national anthem. In music and drama, this production recreates the 1914
arrival of the Australian troops in Egypt, before their departure for
Gallipoli. It may have been aimed at giving those on the home front a sense of
the soldiers’ lives. The recording is very celebratory and full of pride at the role
Australia was playing in the Great War.

Ena Ryan of Wellington was a young girl when war was declared in August 1914, but she vividly recalled the excitement of
those days. In this 1985 interview she describes watching the Main Body
marching through the streets of Wellington to the departing ships. She noticed that
one of the men had a kitten buttoned into his tunic. Once they arrived at the
battlefront the men adopted other pets, including dogs, donkeys and goats found
in and around battlefields. These animals helped to keep up the mens’ spirits,
and some became official mascots.